How a coyote became a cyberspace star

Sunday 11 January 2009 19.01 EST
First published on Sunday 11 January 2009 19.01 EST

There's an 8am blizzard blowing through Ten Sleep, Wyoming, when I ring Shreve Stockton, who has become a cyberspace star for her blog about raising a coyote at home. Two years ago Stockton, 31, rode a Vespa from San Francisco to New York. When she arrived in Wyoming, she fell in love with red dirt, mountains, open spaces. "I knew I had to live there."

So she did, became a substitute teacher and then fell in love twice more: the first time with a trapper called Mike - "He grabbed my attention just like Wyoming did" - and then, when Mike turned up at her door with a day-old orphaned coyote in his pocket, she fell in love with the puppy too.

Mike had shot its parents, who had been killing sheep. "I had to decide: should I raise Charlie [as she named the coyote] or let him die." She chose the former. It was the start of a beautiful relationship - and a blog called the Daily Coyote, where Stockton writes about raising a wild animal in her home, illustrating her story with photos. The blog became a US hit. Why? "It's about reconnecting to wildness and freedom. Most people don't have that."

In one photo, Charlie sits with Stockton's cat. Why isn't Charlie eating Eli? "I know! Eli should be Charlie's prey, but Eli has a commanding energy, which Charlie respects." He also respects Stockton: "I once had to defend myself with a chair, and now I know why. Every day I have to establish myself as the alpha, say, by eating my food before he can, otherwise he will attack me." She also had him castrated, which probably helped.

The blog has now become a book, The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming (published in the US). What about a film? "Not unless it was beautiful and true to my life." It's a life funded by her writing. Is she happy? "I'm in awe every moment. "It's 8.15am and Charlie is running around in the blizzard. He'll come inside soon, possibly for a cuddle."